Electrically driven vacuum cleaner



Sept. 26, 1933. J. HAMBmGE 1,928,535

ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN VACUUM CLEANER Filed Feb. 7, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l \NVENTOR UohnJ.Ham\oi.dge

BY ATTORNEY Sept. 26, 1933.

ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN VACUUM CLEANER Filed Feb. 7, 1931 KSheets-Sheet 2 \NVENTOR 0 own I]. Horn bidge ATTORNEY p 1933- J. J. HAMBIDGE 1,928,535

ELEGTRICALLY DRIVEN VACUUM CLEANER Filed Feb. '7, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 \NVENTOR John J. Hcnmh 'Ldge ATTokNEY I Patented Sept. 26, 1933 time 1,928,535 ELECTRICALLYDRIVEN VACUUM. CLEANER Schn' James Hambidge, London, England 1931,, Serial No. 514,275, and in Great Britain March 28, 1930 a 7 Application February '7,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to electrically driven vacuum cleaning machines and has particular reference to the domestic type of machine comprising an electric motor driven suctionian provided with dust collecting or cleansing nozzles and adust filter bag, the whole being assembled as a mobile push-about device;

0 kind above indicated which is so constructed as to be applicable, without the use of flexible hose,

not only for cleaning floors, carpets or the like but for cleaningcurtains, cornices, friezes, chairs and other articles and places which are ordinarily inaccessible to a wheeled vacuum cleaning machine. I

According to one form, the present invention consists in an electrically driven Vacuum cleaning machineofthe wheeled type comprising an electric motor and a suction fan co-axially mounted and constituting a machine capable of use for cleaning floors, carpets or the like or for cleaning curtains, furniture and other articles and places not ordinarily accessible to a vacuum cleaning machine without the use of flexible hose.

According to another form of the invention an electrically driven vacuum cleaning machine comprises an electric motor mounted in axial alignment with a suction fan and a handle hinged to the fan casing but adapted to be fixed relatively thereto at will to change the machine from a floor or carpet cleaner toa'portable cleaner for wallsjcurtains, furniture or the like without 7 the use of flexible hose."

Referencewill now be made to the accompany-' 1 ing drawings which illustrate by way of example a construction according'to the invention and in which:-- i p r Fig. 1 is an elevation of a vacuum cleaning machine constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the handle in the unlocked positionoccupied for floor cleaning.

In the construction illustrated, an electric mo- 7 tor a is mounted vertically above a suction fan I) which is disposed in a casing c lying in a horizontal plane and carrying at its forward end a suction nozzle coupling d and carrying at the rear of one side, a dust and air discharge passage or duct 6. The suction'fan motor and accessory parts are made as light as possible to which end the electric motor is of the high speed type and is mounted vertically with the suction fan'b directly mounted upon an extension 8 of the motor spindle, as shown in Fig. :5.

To the rear of the fan casing. c is disposed a pair of brackets f to the lower ends of which a pair of Wheels 9 is mounted to'support the machine from the floor; The brackets also serve togetheras a support for a short lifting handle it whichis pivoted as at h to the' brackets and has a spring catch'i adapted to engage'a slot 9" in one of the brackets i so that the handle it may be locked rigidly with the fan casing, when required as hereinafter described. The spring catchi is so arranged relatively to the handle h that it can be readilyoperated by the thumb of the operator its outer end lc-being depressible against the action of a leaf spring 1. K

The short'handle h is formed at its outer ex'- tremity. to engage with. a socket m formedon a handle extension n, a wing nut set screw 0 being employed for readily connecting the two handle sections together by tightening the metal band which constitutes the socket m. 1 The electric. motor a is preferably formed with. a ventilated outer insulating cover and is of the..universal voltage type the electrical connections to the motor as by a cord 5 being by way of a flexible lead p which passes through insulating collars q on the short handle it. The longer. portion 'of the handle n is provided with cleats 1" about which the flexible cord 8 is wound when the device is not in use. The short handle halso carries a single'pole switch 15 on its, under side which is, capable of operationbythe fingerof the operator when the short handle aboveis-used andby the foot when the longer handle .isemployed.

The detachable dust filter bagru which ispreferably made with a double thickness of fabric material is preferably impregnated with disinfectant. Its forward end is provided with means for detachably .engaging the discharge duct or passage e of the fan casing and its rear endis closed by a grooved metallic clip 1) to which one and removably connected with the suction nozzle d by means of an' internally flanged sleeve y which has two inclined slots .2 engaging fixed pins 2 on the nozzle d and is recessed at 3 at its forward edge to permit the passage of two lugs 4 formed on the operating tool 5 which engage corresponding recesses 6 in the suction fan inlet 12 thereby locking the tool against rotation and preventing accidental displacement when the flanged sleeve y is rotated after the tool has been mounted in operative position. One of the pins 2 on which the flanged sleeve y is partially rotatable may be a screw threaded element provided with an operating knob 7 to enable the sleeve to be locked in adjusted position and prevent detachment of the cleaning tool 11 during use. A rigid distance tube may be employed as an extension piece for the suction tool, said extension piece having at one extremity coupling elements whereby it may be coupled with the flanged sleeve y in the manner in which a tool may be attached to said sleeve, as described above, and having at its other extremity a flanged sleeve 12 whereby the various tools may begattached thereto.

In operation and using the short handle h, the nozzle, suction fan and motor are made rigid with the handle it by causing the catch 1' to engage in the recess 9 andas the'weight of the suction fan and motor are positioned so as to give the, best possible leverage, the operator can lift the device with comfort whilst having one free hand for presenting curtains or other articles to be cleansed to the influence of the suction nozzle. During this operation the operator partially supports the filterrbag on the arm since the arm supporting the device may pass through loop at. If ceiling decorations, picture rails and like articles of household decoration normally inaccessible require cleansing, then the handle extension n is fixed to the short handle 72. and the latter is still maintained rigid with the machine. Should the device be required for carpet or floor cleaning then the machine is placed on the floor in such manner as to run on its wheels and is supported infront by the cleaning nozzle as shown in Fig. 1, the longer handle being attached to the shorter one which is released from its locked position when the machine is to be used for this purpose.

As shown in Fig. 2, the forward portion of the cord s, by which the motor a is connected to a source of current, is. mounted in the short front section II. of the handle, and enters said section forwardly of but close to the rear end' of the latter, and the switch t for closing the electric circuit through the cord 8 is carried by the lower side of said section adjacent the forward end of said section. After the removal of the long rear handle section n from the front handle section h, and after the front handle section h has been secured by the catch 2' rigidly to the motor a and fan casing c, the cleaner may be conveniently held in one hand when cleaning furniture, draperies or the like. When the cleaner is so used, the front handle section It extends rearwardly from the motor a and the fan casing c at substantially a right angle to the axes of the motor and fan, and the handle section IL is grasped by a hand of the user between the switch t and the point at which the cord 3 enters the handle section. Since the cord s extends through the handle section h, and since this handle section is grasped forwardly of the point at which the cord enters the same, the cord will not interfere with the manipulation of the cleaner. Inasmuch as the switch t is located at the lower side of the forward end of the handle section h, it may be conveniently actuated by the fingers of the hand which grasps said handle secton. When the long rear handle section 11 is to be used, the catch i is retracted to permit the handle section h to rock on its pivot h, and the switch t may be conveniently actuated by a foot of the user.

I claim:

In an electrically driven vacuum cleaning machine, a horizontally disposed suction fan casing, a motor mounted upon the casing with its axis extending vertically, wheels journaled on the fan casing, a handle including detachably connected front and rear sections, the front section of the handle being short and pivotally connected at its front end to the rear side of the fan casing, a cord mounted in the front section of the handle and having its front end connected to the motor, the rear end of said cord extending from a side of the front section of the handle for connection with a source of current and at a point adjacent the rear end of said front section, a switch in the cord carried by the rear side of the front section of the handle and at a point adjacent the front end of said front section, the extension of the cord from a side of the front section of the handle and the mounting of the switch on said section adapting the machine to be used with or without the rear section of the handle, the location of the switch at the rear side of the front section of the handle adapting the switch to be operated by the foot when the rear section of the handle is used and adapting it to be operated by the hand when the front section of the handle is used, and means adapted to lock the front section of the handle to the fan casing with said section extending rearwardly from the fan casing at substantially right angles to the axis of the fan casing and motor, whereby to adapt the machine to beheld in the hand by the short section of the handle and with the fan casing and motor in front of said section.

. JOHN JAMES HAMBIDGE. 

